Last year, we spent Buddha’s Birthday at Haedong Yonggungsa, a seaside temple in Busan. (Click here to check out the post!) It was an unforgettable experience, with the smell of incense combining with the scents of sea, and the sight of the brightly-colored lanterns hanging against the rocky coastline. This year, we spent Buddha’s Birthday in the midst of the bustling city, at Jogyesa Temple in Insadong.

So a couple weeks ago we had an awesome three-day weekend in S.Korea’s second-largest city, Busan, which is a convenient 40 minute train ride away from us! The reason for the three-day weekend was Buddha’s Birthday, which meant that the city was decked out in bright, paper lanterns for a few weeks.

Before heading to Busan, we visited the temple closest to us: Junggwangsa.